Shane was incredibly tempted but he knew things had to stop right here and now. If he let Valentine get her gorgeous pink lips wrapped around the head of his cock he would take her to bed and taste her and fuck her and never let her go. And that could never be.
“Still topping from the bottom, sweetheart.” He pushed her away, a little more roughly than he’d intended. “I’ll let you know when I want you to submit. In the meantime, we’re done here.”
He could see the hurt in her eyes and it made him feel like an asshole. But what could he do? If he let her stay he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from taking her. He’d wanted her for so long and here she was practically offering herself. He had to get her out of harm’s way—and in this case he was the source of the harm.
“I’m sorry if I did something wrong,” she said stiffly as she climbed to her feet and buttoned her blouse.
Shane sighed and ran a hand over his head. “It’s nothing you did. It’s just me.”
She straightened her skirt, smoothing it down over her thighs, and retrieved her panties. “I guess I should go now.”
“Yes, you should.” He saw her to the door, wishing every minute that he could pull her back in for another kiss. That he could take her to bed and spend the night making her come. But that was impossible.
Valentine turned before he shut the door, a look of pleading in her green eyes. “Shane, at least tell me…are we going to have another lesson?”
He closed his eyes for a minute, trying to think around the headache that was building. “I don’t know at this point, Valentine. I’ll let you know,” he said at last. “I’ll call you.”
“Will you really?” The hurt in her voice was so palpable he opened his eyes.
“Of course I will. Don’t I always?” It was true they talked at least once a day, the same way they met for lunch or dinner at least once a week. He felt responsible for Valentine, which was one reason what he’d done was so wrong. “You’d better go,” he told her, noticing that she was beginning to shiver. Even in Tampa it got chilly in February and the outfit she had on wasn’t exactly the warmest in the world.
“All right.” She looked at him uncertainly for a moment and then leaned forward impulsively and kissed him on the mouth. “I wanted to do that one more time,” she whispered. “Just in case.”
“In case of what?”
But she didn’t answer. Instead she headed for her car. She got in and gave him a little wave before backing out of his driveway. Shane watched her go with mixed emotions. She was so beautiful and sweet and desirable…and he was such a bastard for wanting her.
He had to get her out of his head. Had to let go of what had happened tonight so it didn’t ruin the rest of their relationship. But, God, it was hard, so hard to watch her drive away and not call her back.
“Yup, this is her all right.” Clemens shook his head. “Damn shame.”
Shane had to agree with his partner. The remains they’d found were over a year old and badly decomposed but there was no missing the tangle of blonde hair that still clung to the skull in the shallow grave. The girl was Clair Thomas, a local college student not that much younger than Valentine. She’d last been seen leaving a club in Ybor City with a man who had later been identified as a convicted sex offender. He’d been caught and pinned with some other crimes about six months after he’d done her and now he was using the resting place of her body as a bargaining chip to take the death penalty off the table.
“Sick bastard,” Shane muttered, comparing the sad remains to the picture of the missing girl in his hand. The man who had killed Clair was in custody and never getting out but there were always more like him out there—sexual predators just waiting to pounce on the innocent.
Valentine is like that. So damn eager to try something new she rushes into it without thinking.
Shane turned away, letting the lab techs do their work. He’d gotten a call from her only that morning but he’d let the message got to voice mail. He honestly didn’t know what to say to her—didn’t know how to act now that they’d crossed the invisible line that had always been between them. Getting his phone out of his pocket, he flipped it open and listened again.
“Shane, it’s me,” she began in a strong voice. “It’s only four more days to my birthday and I wanted to know if we were doing something this year or if I should make other plans.” There was a pause, as though she was debating over what to say next and then she continued. “I’m sorry if what happened upset you but it…it didn’t upset me at all. No, damn it—that’s not right. I’ll come right out and say it—I loved it and I want more. I want…I want more of the lifestyle. I want another lesson and if I can’t get it from you, well… Look, I don’t want anyone else to show me the way, Shane. I want it to be you—only and always you. Please call me.”
She’d hung up without saying goodbye.
Shane sighed. Damn it—not only had he not scared her away from the idea of a D/s relationship, he’d actually fanned her interest. And he was well aware that she was saying if she couldn’t get it from him she’d get it from someone else. Some guy she picked up on the internet or in a club. Some pervert who would tie her up and rape her and dump her the way Clair Thomas had been dumped.
I have to stop this. I have to protect her—but how when the only way to keep her out of harm’s way is to violate Peter’s trust in me? It was a tough call but Shane knew he couldn’t ignore it anymore. And maybe he’d been going about this whole thing the wrong way. Maybe instead of trying to scare Valentine off, he should do his best to satiate her curiosity.
He’d seen her get interested in new things before and then, when she got bored, she’d drop whatever it was and go on to something else. She’d done it with fencing and chess and astronomy and for a while she’d even been deep into making stained glass. Shane had read somewhere that particular trait was a sign of intelligence—getting as much as you could out of something and then moving on to the next bright, shiny idea. Maybe if he just helped Valentine get as much as she could out of BDSM, she’d move on and he could breathe a sigh of relief.
But helping her get as much as she wanted was bound to be an intense process and he couldn’t kid himself that it wouldn’t get sexual. Valentine wanted that part of it and she wasn’t going to be satisfied with a few whippings and wearing leather bondage gear—not unless it was followed by some kind of sexual reward. She was a sensualist— he only had to look at her lush, curvy body to know that—and she wouldn’t be happy unless he gave her what she was looking for.
Fine, Shane told himself, flipping open the phone again. I’ll give her what she wants. But touching only. There’s no need to go any further than we went last night. He punched the number for Valentine’s work and waited while someone got her on the phone.
“Shane?” she sounded tentatively happy. “I’m so glad to hear from you. I thought?—”
“Eight o’clock. My place. Tonight,” he interrupted her. “This time you can wear something sexy if you want. Doesn’t matter what since you’ll be taking it off. Don’t be late.”
“I won’t be.”
